Last night’s House vote that ended the bizarre government shutdown ended in an appropriately bizarre manner:
A House floor stenographer was abruptly hauled out of the chamber after charging the dais and screaming during Wednesday’s late night vote on raising the debt ceiling and funding the federal government.
As the bill sailed toward final passage, the presiding lawmaker suddenly began pounding the gavel. Witnesses on the floor said the woman, identified as Dianne Reidy, seized a microphone and began yelling during the vote.
She was then removed from the chamber by floor staff and taken into an adjacent elevator. She continued yelling as she was taken away, saying phrases such as “you cannot serve two masters” and “he will not be mocked.”
Here’s some more detail:
The stenographer apparently began shouting about God, the freemasons and a House divided, just as federal workers’ pay was being restored.
“He will not be mocked. He will not be mocked. Don’t touch me. He will not be mocked. The greatest deception here is this is not ‘one nation under God.’ It never was. Had it been, it would not have been … no … it would not have been,” the stenographer yelled as Capitol Police dragged her from the House floor.
“The Constitution would not have been written by free masons. They go against God,” she said. ”You cannot serve two masters. You cannot serve two masters. Praise be to God. Lord Jesus Christ.”
Lawmakers watched the scene in a mix of bewilderment and shock. Members stood on the floor watching the scene unfold, and after the floor staffer was removed from the chamber, lawmakers turned to each other to try figure out what that was all about.
And here’s video and audio:
After three and a half weeks of this nonsense, it’s surprising more people didn’t snap.
